Eleven Sports challenges UK’s Saturday football blackout

Sports streaming service Eleven Sports is challenging the ban on televising live football games on Saturday afternoons in the UK.

The OTT platform has started streaming games from Spain’s La Liga to its UK subscribers during the blackout period, claiming to generate revenue from football fans who would otherwise turn to illegal streams.

“We disagree with the ban and will continue to challenge it with the best interest of our customers at heart,” Eleven Sports said on its Facebook page.

The ban was introduced in the 1960s after club owners complained that people were deserting football grounds to watch matches on TV instead.

Europe’s soccer governing body UEFA still allows national leagues to impose a broadcast ban on the day that most games are played in each country.

Only England, Scotland and Montenegro still enforce the rule and it is respected by broadcasters in the UK.

The move is supported by La Liga, which says that Eleven’s actions are pushing the boundaries to challenge illegal services which currently have a monopoly on broadcasts in the UK.

“We support Eleven Sports in pushing the envelope in making matches available on Saturday afternoons,” said Joris Evers, La Liga’s chief communications officer, told Bloomberg.

“People are watching football either through piracy or on betting websites anyway. Upholding the ban does not make much sense.”